Let Me Introduce Everyone to Junior, A Band From Texas

Kiley Bland, Steve Cox and Adam Hoffoss... Three guys who grew up in small towns with dreams of some day escaping the country back roads, trailer parks and barn dances to be in a rock and roll band. Those guys made their dreams come true, and their band's name is Junior.

Kiley and Steve started the band in a small town where rodeos and high school football are a way of life. Its a place where there are 3 things on every corner - an antique store, a liquor store and a church. As you enter the city limits the sign reads, Gladewater, Texas, Population: Just Good Folks.

Adam hails from Dixie Inn, LA. Its not a hotel, and its not Los Angeles. It's simply the home of Hamburger Happiness, the restaurant owned by Adam's family for 30 years, and the place where he earned a living growing up. He was lost, but now he is found, and he understands now that there is more to happiness than burgers.

These guys put on a show like no one else. Their performances are electrifying, and they've played & toured with some of the biggest bands in the business - Bowling For Soup, The All American Rejects, Blue October, American Hi-Fi, Everclear, Lifehouse, 12 Stones, and many more. They also performed at the Vans Warped Tour on the Ernie Ball stage, and won 2nd place in the 2003 Grammy Demo Review out of 800 bands. Most recently, the band was selected as a national finalist in the Clear Channel Radio Star contest.

Junior released their debut album in 2001 entitled "Starving Artists of the Year," an EP titled "Redneck, White, and Blue in 2003," and the full length album, "Y'all Ready To Rock?," in June 2005. The band signed with Toucan Cove / Universal Records and is set to release Are We Famous Yet? In the spring of 2007. The new album includes the song "She's So Amazing," which features Jaret Reddick of Bowling For Soup making a guest vocal appearance on the song. The band licensed their CD to In-N-Out Records in Japan as well as Rude Records in Europe, and followed with a successful tour of Japan in November of 2006.

Recently I interviewed Kiley and asked him some intriguing questions I thought their fans, and potential fans would like to know.

Riley the Promoter: Tell potential new fans your names, what instruments you play, and how long you been in the music industry.
Kiley of Junior: Kiley - Guitars/Lead vocals,Steve - Drums/Vocals, and Adam - Bass/Vocals. Steve and I started a band in high school and have been doing it every since. Back then though, things were a lot different. We used to have to walk up hill both way in the snow just to get to band practice. Then, when we got there, we had to hope the wind would blow so the windmill would spin to produce electricity to power our amps. Things were a lot more difficult back then.

Riley the Promoter: What were some influences of the band?
Kiley of Junior: We are honestly influenced by everything ranging from 80's music to rap to country to punk. We love it all. I'd have to say the best description I've heard was Green Day meets Lynyrd Skynyrd, or Blink 182 meets Larry The Cable Guy. It's more rock though. I think it's more of a straight ahead punk/pop/rock with an edge and a lot of harmonies. We sing about fun stuff, and things that people can relate to.

Riley the Promoter: Has being signed to a record label changed your perspective of the goals your were searching for, or are you guys still on a high from knowing you finally made it to the point you worked so hard for?

Kiley of Junior: Well, being signed is actually where the work really starts. You work all your life just to get to the point where you can work harder. I'm a workaholic. I eat, sleep, and breath music business. If you don't have anyone in your band that knows what they are doing, then you better take on that roll and learn. I always thought when you got signed that all the sudden it was like someone had all the answers and they could just touch you and make you famous. Just because you get signed doesn't mean you'll be "famous". You gotta work just as hard, except you finally have a team that specializes in public relations, radio, promo, etc. It's also nice to have someone else pay for us to record though. that's expensive.

Riley the Promoter: Has your life's changed much since being signed?
Kiley from Junior: Not really. We're still working our asses off. I'm still on the phone and sending emails 12 hours a day. the CD isn't out yet, and hasn't hit radio yet, s we're still just chugging along until it does. Once it starts getting played on the radio, and we get om bigger tours, get bigger agents, etc. then things will probably start changing. Once I actually get payed after a show, that's when I'll notice a difference.

Riley the Promoter: Since you guys are signed now, if you could tour with any band, who would you choose?
Kiley from Junior: Man, I don't even know where to start. There are always the obvious ones like The Rolling Stones, U2, Green Day, Aerosmith, you know, the legends. But, on more realistic level I'd like to go out with someone like Hinder, All American Rejects, and bands like that. you know what would be kick ass, if we could go out on tour with Poison. There were actually some talks about us doing some shows with Poison this summer. But, it never happened. Would be cool to do it someday.

Riley the Promoter: Is there a big summer tour in the works? Have any idea who you guys might accompany on tour?
Kiley of Junior: Well, for right now, we are in the middle of nailing down a big booking agent. We need someone that can pair us up with someone on their roster. So, we need an agency with a lot of established acts on their roster. We've talked to several, but just haven't nailed one down yet. Once we do, then well start touring, etc. We'll tour with whoever, we don't care, as long as there are people there, then we'll entertain them with music, jokes, or something. We just wanna play.

Riley the Promoter: If you guys could give any advice to bands looking to finally reach the point you guys have reached, what would you say to them?
Kiley from Junior: LEARN THE BUSINESS. Be resourceful. I can't tell you how many years I spent studying the business, making friends with anyone and everyone in the biz, etc. Just work your butt off. First, make sure you've got something to sell. Instead of recording a 10 song CD at a shitty studio, go record 3 of your best songs at a bad ass studio. All it takes is that 1 song to get peoples attention. Once you get that done, make sure you have your live show down. Then, start making contact with attorneys, managers, agents, producers, etc. It took us forever, but I stuck with it. everyone on earth told me we wouldn't make it at 1 time or another. I was also told no by people in the biz that later said yes. It's a weird business, so just prepare yourself, and do your homework.

Riley the Promoter: Is there a music video in the works for "What Was I Thinking"? If so where would you want it to be filmed?
Kiley from Junior: Well, not yet there isn't.. We haven't gotten that far yet. It's the first single, so we'll see how it does at radio, then we'll take that next step. It'll be funny though.

Riley the Promoter: Tell your fans something about yourselves that they don't know.
Kiley of Junior: Honestly, we're nerds in real life. We sit in the hotel room and watch TV. We don't party or anything, so there's really nothing for us to do after shows. We're all home bodies, and don't like to leave the house. I really like pop and country music, and I'm very business minded at home. I take the band very serious and try to run it like a business. I also LOVE to fish. Steve is really into wood working and hanging out with his kids, and Adam is really good with electronics, and is into building stuff too.. We're an interesting bunch. Well actually, we're not that interesting at all, but it's interesting that our personal lives are so different from our wild stage show

Riley the Promoter: What do you guys plan to do for your fans for helping you get to where you guys are now and beyond? Everyone says "Its all about the fans... They will make you or break you."

Kiley of Junior: Well, I wish I could say something like "give everyone $100" but I don't have it. I think a big BBQ at the lake would be cool.. Being from a small town it was always kinda weird for us, because there weren't many people in our town. So, we never were the kind of band that could play locally and draw 500 people, but we could travel all over the place and draw 50-100 people.. but, once the CD comes out hopefully that will grow. So, maybe someday we could afford to have a cookout for all the fans that supported us along the way. If we get huge then I don't know if we can afford a cookout that big. haha.

Riley the Promoter: Last question. Do you guys plan to still do local shows around the areas where you guys used to play, even when you become really famous? A lot of times fans seeing you before you were signed, can't see you again because of the price to get in to huge shows in big cites. Is there hope for us?

Kiley of Junior: Well, I'd love to do that, and I'm sure we will. That is the sucky thing about living in small areas. We don't even really have a rock station in the Gladwater/Longview/Tyler area. our closest rock station is Shreveport. Also, when you start getting airplay, etc. I think it's actually more profitable for the bands to play towns the size of Longview, Tyler, etc at first, because those people don't really get a chance to see bands they heard on the radio. So, I'd really like to focus on smaller markets when we are touring, because a lot of people come to those shows. I'm from a small town, and I know for fact that anytime we got a band that was on the radio to come to town, the shows were always packed.. So, yeah, we're going to play locally. Whether it be at clubs, or at festivals, we'll still play around here.

If you ever get a chance to see these guys, live then do so. You will absolutely love them.